Efforts to increase levels of organ donation under presumed consent should focus on “feelings and emotions” rather than facts, British researchers say.
Their research suggests that one in 10 people are considering refusing to take part in a proposed new system aimed at increasing organ donation through a presumption of consent. Ta.
“Evidence consistently shows that emotional barriers play the greatest role in influencing donor behavior.”
jordan miller
But it also found that people planning to opt out of the approach, which covers England and Scotland and is already in place in Wales, reported stronger emotional barriers to organ donation. .
According to the University of Stirling research team, these barriers included discomfort when thinking about one’s own death and an aversion to organ donation.
Researchers said their findings suggest campaigns that target emotions and feelings may be more effective than interventions that present facts.
More than 6,000 people are currently on the waiting list for an organ transplant in the UK, according to the latest figures. However, three people die every day while waiting for a transplant.
90% of the UK population supports organ donation, but only 38% are on the organ donor register.
To address this shortfall, governments in Scotland and England are planning to follow Wales’ lead and introduce opt-out donor consent, which presumes consent unless the person opts out.
Prior to Sterling’s study, research on public attitudes and intentions regarding the proposed opt-out consent law was limited, the researchers said.
They surveyed 1,202 people in the UK about their intentions under the proposed system and found that 9.4% planned to opt out or were unsure of their decision.
The researchers emphasized that in reality, this number could be even higher, as 70% of participants were already organ donors.
This survey British Journal of Health Psychologyfound that 66.1% opted in and 24.3% gave “deemed consent.”
Study co-author Jordan Miller, who conducted the study as part of his doctoral studies, said:
“Concern that organ donation would violate bodily integrity was a particularly important barrier for this group,” she noted.
“Our research looked at the myth-busting strategies currently employed by the NHS, and used by other healthcare providers around the world. information,” she said.
“Interventions designed to target emotions and feelings may be more effective in increasing donor intent.”
jordan miller
Miller stressed that such an approach would not be effective in increasing the willingness of people who plan to opt out to donate.
He suggested that organ donation campaigns could be more effective by focusing on emotions rather than facts to overcome deep-seated emotional beliefs and increase donor intent.
“Evidence consistently shows that emotional barriers, or emotions, play the biggest role in influencing donor behavior. However, the NHS’s myth-busting campaign shows that emotions, rather than emotions, We target facts,” she said. “Therefore, interventions designed to target emotions and feelings may be more effective in increasing donor intentions.”
She added: “Before implementing opt-out consent laws, alternative strategies to increase donor intent need to be evaluated.”
